Hands-on: Borderlands

Spiffy:

Iffy:

Lots of the randomly generated weapons are sucky; looting procedure is tedious.

In a parallel universe not too far removed from our own, I'm a fabulously wealthy and ridiculously handsome eccentric who enjoys nothing more than commissioning talented studios to create games tailored to my own ridiculous specifications. I'd only have a handful of these ultra-rare games pressed to disc once all the work was done, and the gaming community would be green with envy, wishing that I would share one of these custom-made "Oh my God, this is the greatest game ever!" productions with the world at large. In this dreamy reality, I'd have dropped a few briefcases full of cash into the laps of the good folks at Gearbox Software to commission Borderlands -- a game seemingly put together by checking off a wish list of my favorite things.

Welcome to the Apocalypse

The post-apocalypse theme is all the rage these days. Fallout 3 was a smash hit and id Software is working on Rage, a game that explores a similar wasteland environment. Even reality television is getting in on the fun, with a show on the Discovery Channel called "The Colony" that tries to depict life in post-apocalypse Los Angeles. I'm a sucker for end-of-world scenarios, from those depicted in films like "The Omega Man" and "Mad Max" to those in books like Nevil Shute's "On the Beach," Borderlands' Pandora is a world that takes the Mad Max approach and flings it into the far future, with advanced technology in the form of vending machines selling sophisticated equipment, high-powered armaments, and super-charged vehicles. While the tech is suitably advanced, culture and society has regressed to the stone ages, as the world is besieged by savage raiders and hostile beasts. Sounds like fun!

Xanadu for Loot Freaks

So it's no secret that I love loot. The allure of obtaining something rare has driven me towards many of my favorite game experiences, from playing a Magic Find Sorceress in Diablo II to raiding for shiny purples in World of Warcraft. I've even ripped open collectible card game boosters, gambling for the chance at something good from that one rare card per pack. It's part of my semi-destructive hoarder nature, this desire to accumulate cool things. Give me an experience system and loot and chances are that I'll play your game. Borderlands is all about the loot drops, about killing enemies and picking up the shiny stuff that spurts out of their cold, dead corpses. Money, med kits, shields, and guns, I want it all, and in this case, variety is king. Let's start with the kinds of guns you can find:

Repeaters - Fast-firing pistols that allow you to pump a lot of bullets into something with good accuracy at short range.

Revolvers - Powerful hand cannons that are made for taking heads clean off. Revolvers and repeaters are both lumped into the Pistol weapon proficiency.

Combat Rifles - Medium-range monsters that combine decent power with a high rate of fire.

Shotguns - Can't aim worth a lick, or want to shoot down a dense flock of Rakks? Shotguns do huge damage if you get up close and personal.

Sniper Rifles - One shot, one kill? Not always, but sniper rifles are the best option for taking enemies out from long distances, especially if you're skilled at nailing headshots.

Launchers - Slow and ponderous, but who cares? It shoots rockets. For when you absolutely need something blown up.

Eridian Weapons - I didn't see these alien weapons in action, but they should be interesting.

Once you have the type of gun, the next important attribute is its manufacturer. Jakobs weapons have distinctive wooden stocks and deal high damage; the Maliwan weapons I found were highly effective against shields or flesh and imbued with elemental attacks; S&S Munitions weapons have an increased magazine size, and so on. There are quite a few different manufacturers, and you'll have to find the kind of attributes that work for your play style. You'll want a good mix of weapons (you'll eventually be able to hot-swap between four different guns) to cover your ass in different situations, because you might not always be playing co-op.

The Spice of Life

The sheer variety of different gun modifications is ridiculous. A color-coded system tells you at a glance how rare your weapon is. Whites are common, greens are uncommon, blues are rare and purples are special arms worth holding onto. These weapons are procedurally generated over the course of the game, randomly slapping together attributes that are a good fit for your level range as you play. With something on the order of many millions of guns to be found, this is a loot freak's dream come true.

Randomized shield and grenade mods provide even more variety, so you'll have to choose whether you want a shield with very high capacity, quick recharge, a flame burst effect, healing, and so on. Grenades come in all sorts of types as well, from contact and sticky grenades to bouncing betties and MIRVs: the grenade that releases a cluster of smaller grenades. These 'nades can also come with elemental attributes, so you might find one similar to the Shock Bouncing Bettie that served me well for several levels.

The annoying bit? It can be a chore to sweep up the battlefield after a firefight to scoop up all the ammo, guns, and cash that fell during the fracas. While you can hold down a button to pick up all nearby ammo, you have to get a drop in your sights by looking down at it before you can snatch it up, and this can be a pain.

Stay Classy, Pandora

Any of the four characters can use any kind of gun, but their class-specific perks favor certain weapon types over others, and their class abilities give them a unique flavor.

Roland the Soldier

Skill Trees: Infantry, Support, and Medic

Class ability: Drops a Scorpio Turret that blasts away at enemies and serves as cover.

Weapons: Her magic-like abilities allow her to make great use of shock, corrosive, and incendiary guns.

Strengths: Via stealthy kills or battlefield manipulation, Lilith is great at controlling the outcome of a battle.

Characters are quite customizable. As you use any one kind of weapon, you'll earn proficiency ranks which grant you bonuses like increased damage, accuracy, etc. You can choose to specialize in the three skill tiers any way you like, and respecs are available at any time for a modest fee.